Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a Forecast for Fun

Look out ‘Pixar’ as Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animations’ 3D film, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” comes close to rivaling the competition. Based on the popular children’s picture book— written and illustrated by husband and wife team, Judi and Ron Barrett, this adaptation is sure to be a box office winner. First and foremost, the film boasts a smart and comical script that stays true to the original story. First time directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord casted the film brilliantly as the stars personalities ring through loud and clear.

The story itself is charming as ever. When I taught second grade, this was one of the most loved and read books in the classroom. The reason is simple; the story revolves around ‘food’ and lots of food— all kinds including ice cream cones and candy. A young inventor voiced by Bill Hader of SNL fame, dreams of improving life in general so he creates a machine that can be programmed to rain food from the sky. Now what child or adult for that matter wouldn’t be fascinated by such an idea? It’s a great imaginative storyline, which was expanded upon by screenwriters Chris Miller and Phil Lord.

Upon the beginning of the story we are introduced to our hero, Flint Lockwood (Hader). As a young student, he invents all kinds of weird and crazy stuff that kids will think are really cool – like his spray on shoes, so he doesn’t need to bother with laces. He’s just quirky enough that kids should like him as he has far out ideas and sometimes gets into trouble because of them. When Flint grows up, he still wears a white lab coat that his mom gave him for a birthday present. (I liked this part as moms usually do nurture kids’ true hopes and dreams no matter how wacky they might seem. Little Flint adores his lab coat!)

As the story continues, Flint is able to make food magically fall from the sky. Hold on to your 3D glasses as the graphics are spectacular! The colors are as brilliant as the ones in “Up” with a tad bit more surreal look and feel. The landscapes are beautifully depicted with the appearance of enticing foods. All of this food commotion causes a national scene and a new character is introduced who happens to be the strong-willed weathergirl, Sam Sparks played by Anna Faris from the film, “House Bunny” 2008.

Sam is actually a very smart girl who thinks she needs to act a certain way to ‘make it’ in the news business. What she attempts to do is hide her braininess in fear that she’ll be perceived as uncool. Later in the film, she decides that it’s best to ‘be herself’ with a little coaching from Flint. This of course is an enormous message for kids and plays out in other ways.

Other star voices include James Caan as Tim Lockwood; Flint’s father who doesn’t like to show his feelings and talks in fishing metaphors. Andy Samberg plays Brent, the town bully who has wreaked havoc on Flint since childhood. Bruce Campbell plays Mayor Shelbourne, who foresees that Flint's invention can bring the town recognition and a chance for him to be in the spotlight. Finally, the distinctive voice of the town cop is none other than Mr. T.

At times the film feels like you are on a roller coaster as its nonstop action and entertainment for all. So sit back relax, put on those nerdy looking glasses and be prepared to view a visual spectacle complete with a wild run away ‘spaghetti tornado’ and a dessert landscape that brings you back to those tempting gumdrops and sugar coated lollipops of the childhood Candy Land game days.

Sarah Adamson © 2009